Should Jon Jones be stripped of his heavyweight title in favor of a fighting champion, i.e., Tom Aspinall? While speculations have run wild in the past suggesting the answer to that question has been a mixed bag, a recent poll hosted by Jones himself seems to have provided a definitive answer.
Current interim heavyweight champ, Tom Aspinall has been waiting eagerly for a slice of that Jon Jones life, at least inside the octagon for a while now but the undisputed champ’s injuries have forced both fighters to the sidelines. But since Jones hasn’t been too keen on giving him his time of the day, he shouldn’t have asked fans about it in a poll either. Because fans have set their mandate- “Fight Tom or vacate the belt.”
Jones has been accused of ducking Aspinall for a Stipe Miocic fight after his comeback that would cement his legacy at the finest ever. Then there is Alex Pereira, who recently declared his ambition to move up a weight class to become the first three-division champion.
Of course, not everyone has ever agreed with Jones’ methods. So when he asked Twitter who he should be fighting, it was a bloodbath in favor of the Englishman.
As mentioned before, the overwhelming sentiment was to fight Tom Aspinall or vacate the belt so there could be an undisputed title fight.
Meanwhile, some excited fans also threw in Poatoan’s name in the mix.
Aspinall currently sits as a clear heir to the heavyweight division once the old guard passes the torch but it doesn’t appear like fans want the torch to be passed. They want Aspinall to take it from him.
People really believe Aspinall, after his recent successes in the division, deserves to carry the undisputed gold.
It’s quite apparent that most fans want Jones to follow the UFC’s tradition by accepting the title unification fight against the interim heavyweight champ, Aspinall. But even if he does so, Aspinall’s task of conquering one of the greatest ever in the sport is going to a task of Herculean proportions, to put it mildly.
Can Tom Aspinall take the torch from an unwilling Jon Jones?
Aspinall has put out a few awesome in-octagon performances despite having just eight UFC fights under his belt. But it’s not like wins have been served on a plate to him to build him up. Aspinall has been in the trenches. Many once considered Russian fighter Sergei Pavlovich to be the man to beat but Aspinal finished that story in the first round of the fight.
So, Jones will need to be on his toes, more than he was for Cyril Gane. He would possibly need similar levels of preparation if he had ever fought Francis Ngannou in the octagon. That said, the 36-year-old is widely considered the smartest fighter to ever get locked inside an octagon.
Several MMA pundits have appreciated Jones’s incredible fight IQ which has allowed him to drastically change his style depending on his rivals. Hence, Aspinall cannot afford to be predictable if he finally gets his long-awaited shot at ‘Bones’ and his undisputed UFC heavyweight gold.
It always takes one mistake with Jones. Alexander Gustafsson found that out during their first fight when he stopped almost every takedown, only to be bled dry by a spinning elbow. UFC is littered with the careers of Jon Jones’ opponents and unless Aspinall wants to be added to the pile, he will really need to step up and then some.
